'America's Socialist Experiment': Locally produced TV documentary delves into Milwaukee's rich political past
Bill Glauber
Socialism is a pretty charged word these days.
But there was a time in Milwaukee's history when socialists ruled the city.
That fascinating political era was bound to get national exposure with this summer's Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee.
But who's best positioned to tell that story, political operatives and candidates looking to score points? National media swooping in for a few days and focusing on a city's colorful past?
How about if the story was told by those who know it best, those with long ties to Wisconsin?
"America's Socialist Experiment" is an hourlong documentary that will air nationally on most PBS stations, including 9 p.m. June 8 in Green Bay and Madison and 8 p.m. June 9 on WMVS-TV (Channel 10) in Milwaukee.
"We thought it would be interesting to look at an experience in a larger American city that was a unique slice of American history," said former newscaster Mike Gousha, who narrates the program and is one of the producers.
Other local producers include Gousha's wife, Lynn Sprangers, a former political reporter who has worked in sports, higher education and performing arts, and Steve Boettcher and Mike Trinklein, who have produced national PBS films including "Pioneers of Television."
Based on the trailers, the film is beautifully shot, and provides an evocative look at the city's rich past.
There's plenty of material to work with, Gousha said, as socialist mayors ran the city for 38 out of of 50 years during a part of the 20th Century.
"We thought let's see what it looked like in practice the way it went down in Milwaukee," he said. "We thought it was timely and topical."
Let's face it: a lot of people nationally don't know much about it, and quite a few locally have only fleeting knowledge of the era.
Daniel Hoan was more than a name on a bridge — he was the city's mayor from 1916 to 1940. Frank Zeidler, whose name is on the city's municipal building, was mayor from 1948 to 1960. Emil Seidel, the city's first socialist mayor, elected in 1910, served one two-year term.
To talk about the era, the filmmakers didn't round up national voices.
They tapped those with Wisconsin ties, hearing from the likes of Zeidler's daughter Jeanne Zeidler and Hoan's grandson, Dan Steininger.
Among the others to reflect on the era include Charlie Sykes, founder of political news site The Bulwark; journalist John Nichols; and historians Margo Anderson and John Gurda.
Former Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig even makes an appearance.
'Sewer Socialists'
"There were a number of things we all learned," said Gousha, a distinguished fellow in law and public policy at Marquette University Law School. "We found it to be quite an education."
"Why did the socialists even came to power in Milwaukee? The city was corrupt and the city was literally filthy. They came into power promising clean government and a much cleaner city. They came in as reformers. It was a unique brand of socialism. Some people might even question whether they were socialists because of the way they went about being pragmatic politicians. They were considered insufficiently revolutionary by East Coast socialists," Gousha said.
Jeanne Zeidler told the producers that East Coast socialists thumbed their noses at what was going on in Milwaukee, derisively called the locals, "Sewer Socialists."
"Milwaukee people took it as a badge of honor," Gousha said.
The documentary focuses on an early accomplishment of Hoan, who as a socialist city attorney drew up the first worker's compensation law in the country, Gousha said.
"There are great apparent contradictions that we found," he said. "The first socialist congressman, Victor Berger of Milwaukee, gets elected but he's also convicted of violating the country's espionage act. Congress won't seat him. They had another election and he won again."
The visible part of the socialist legacy in Milwaukee includes the park system and the lakefront, Gousha said. Other accomplishments during the era included restoring integrity to government and instituting cost accounting measures to increase efficiency.
How it came to an end
Why did the era end?
"Part of it, they went away because the Democrats borrowed some of their ideas, had a more worker-friendly platform," Gousha said "There was this feeling that maybe the socialists weren't needed anymore."
"Another reason they disappeared was that socialism was being equated with communism," he said. "Frank Zeidler himself was a devout Lutheran, everything was based on a foundation of faith. He was anti-communist."
The issue of race also played a role in the demise of the Milwaukee socialists, Gousha said.
"Zeidler was considered too welcoming to the city's newest arrivals, African Americans," Gousha said.
"And frankly the socialists didn't do a great job building the next generation of socialists," Gousha said. "Zeidler was the last guy standing."